08 Feb Are Your Services Valuable to Your Clients?

A huge part of what motivates someone to work with you over someone else who is equally qualified is perceived value. Things like testimonials and recommendations from colleagues play a big roll, don’t get me wrong, but once someone lands on your page, they still need to feel that you understand their needs and that you have the solution for their particular situation.

Let me paint a little scenario for you…

Imagine you want to revamp your website. Your business has evolved and you’re looking to hire a designer. You email some basic details about your needs to two designers before making a choice on who to work with:

Designer 1 Reads through your needs and creates a one-page estimate (no cover page) with just the basics. A sentence about the project objective, a couple of generic paragraphs about the project scope and estimated cost.

Designer 2 Schedules a short call with you to better understand your needs. With that additional information, she puts together a detailed multi-page proposal. Included are a welcome message, an overview of the project scope, your needs and their recommended solution. Pricing, as well as a payment schedule are outlined along with estimated project length. She provide examples of work they’ve done in the past and a clear outline of the process of working together and key terms & policies.

Which of these designers would you choose? You’d choose Designer 2, right? I know this because, a few years back, I was Designer 1, eek! When I was starting out, a friend of mine recommended me to their friend for a website redesign. My portfolio was comparable to my competitor’s and my rates were actually slightly lower. Even with my friend’s reco, I lost out on a project because the person I was up against had a better had a better system in place for estimating and explaining their value to the client.

Now, perhaps the web design example doesn’t resonate with you, but apply it back to you. Maybe you’re a coach, you want to have a clear sales page outlining your offering, the benefits of working with you and how to reach you. Do you specialize on particular types of clients? Do you understand their particular struggle all too well?

What if you’re a yoga or fitness instructor? Do you have a particular holistic approach that your clients might find inspiring? What makes you different from other instructors? Do you have any achievements or experiences you can share?

Perhaps you’re a virtual or personal assistant, does your potential client know what they can hire you for? Do you do social media scheduling primarily? Do you handle intake processes? Are you available to assist in person at live events?

If you’re not clear on WHAT you offer & and HOW you deliver it, why would a client spend their money on you?

Really think about that. If you can’t clearly explain your services and the value they offer, you better believe your client won’t be clear either. And if they’re not clear on whether you’ll provide them the results they’re looking for, why would they spend their money on you?

How do I make my services more valuable?

Many of us are already quite clear on the value that we offer our clients, but the real questions is are you sharing that value across your materials? Your value should be infused in all areas of your business, not just neatly tucked away in your mind.

Create a list of benefits Start out by writing a list of benefits your clients receive from working with you. I’m not talking about a list of services you offer. I mean benefits like: peace of mind, more time to spend working with their own clients (less admin work), added quality time with their family, increased sales, better sleep at night, more energy throughout the day… you can think back to your past clients and make a note of things they have thanked you for.

Create a Unique Package Consider what your clients need. The best way to do this is to talk to potential clients to find out what they need straight from the horse’s mouth. You can conduct an online survey, have potential clients fill out a questionnaire, but I find the best way is to talk to them live (video call or in person preferred, but phone works too). This way you can ask more in-depth questions detailed questions of what their dream package would include. From there you can create something that is of value to them and aligned with what you’re willing to offer. Clients like to feel heard and if you can create a package that speaks directly to their needs, they’ll surely keep you top of mind.

Create a Streamlined Process You don’t want to reinvent the wheel each time. That’s the point of creating a package in the first place. It’s not enough to have a list of offerings, you also want to consider how you’ll deliver your services. What does each step along the way look like, from the time they find your site, to how you communicate, the intake process, your contract, how many meetings you have throughout your time together, how can a client reach you and when? Do they need to deliver any assets or information before you can start? Do you offer any bonuses or resources? Create a repeatable process to make things easier on you and have documents in place that will help your clients understand what your work together will look like. (More on that on my next post)

Offer Useful Content It’s all fine and well to have the best packages you can create, but consider how long it takes someone to finally warm up to hiring you. Your client was probably following along with you for a while before they ever reached out. Why? Because they want to get a better sense of who you are and what you offer. They want to ensure that they’ll get some value out of working with you, and the best way for them to know that is by reading your blog posts, downloading your free resources and seeing what you have to say on social media. I know we all want to make money in the end, but it’s just as important to have valuable content that your clients can preview first. Especially if you have higher ticket offerings.

Assess & Adjust With each client you take on, you’ll learn a little more about your experience together. What the client liked and didn’t like, as well as what worked and didn’t work for you. Always take the time to assess each project when it ends and take notes along the way as needed. Ask your client to fill out a user experience questionnaire (or take 15min to chat live). This will help you eliminate unnecessary work or add services that your client is yearning for.

Is your value clear to others?

Take this time to go back into your sell pages and ensure that there is a focus on value. Not just “you’ll get X for $XX” but what benefit does that thing offer them? How will a client feel after your time together?

Set some time aside to adjust your copy to make your value shine through. I’d love to hear how some minor copy edits make a huge difference in your client’s experience.

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